This January, compared to January 2022, there was over 60% more permanent residents who migrated to Canada under the Parents and Grandparents Programme (PGP). Compared to 1,300 in January 2022, the PGP received 2,065 new applications in January 2023.

Under the PGP, Canada intends to accept 28,500 permanent residents by the end of 2023. Through the PGP, 27,255 permanent residents entered Canada in 2022. This is a 132% increase over the 11,740, who did so in 2021.

 

 

 

 

In 2023, Canada aims to welcome 465,000 permanent residents, according to its Immigration Level Plans 2023–2025. The number of new permanent residents that entered Canada in January 2023 was 50,885, up from 35,450 in January of the previous year. A total of 106,500 permanent residents under the category of family class sponsorship will be included in the immigration objective for 2023. According to the PGP, family sponsorship covers parents, grandparents, and children (less than the age of 22) in addition to spouses, common-law partners. 13,000 people have previously entered Canada through the PGP and sponsorship of a spouse or kid.

 

How the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) works?

Canadian citizens and permanent residents have the right to sponsor one’s parents or grandparents to Canada. A parent or grandparent who is accepted under this programme will be granted permanent residency in Canada and could ultimately be granted Canadian citizenship.

Up till now, sponsors had to comply with the following requirements to be eligible for the PGP:

 

1. Citizenship or PR status: you must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a registered Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
2. Age: you must be 18 years of age or older.
3. Residency: you need to be residing in Canada during the Interest to Sponsor phase. You will be required to provide proof of your status.
4. Income: you must have an income that exceeds the minimum necessary level for the program. If you are married or in a common-law relationship, the income of both you and your spouse can be considered. You will be asked to provide proof of your income to IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada).
5. Undertaking: you must sign an undertaking to financially support the sponsored family member(s) for a period of 20 years, starting from when they become permanent residents. You are also required to repay any social assistance benefits paid to the sponsored family members, if applicable, for the same period.
6. Quebec Sponsorship: if you reside in Quebec, you must sign an additional undertaking with the province of Quebec.
7. If you submitted an Interest to Sponsor form on the IRCC website between October 13, 2020, at 12:00 PM EDT and November 3, 2020, at 12:00 PM EST, you have completed the form.

 

The 2023 PGP has not yet been given specifics by IRCC. Previous years’ prospective sponsors who received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) through the PGP were chosen at random by IRCC using a lottery mechanism.

Since 2020, all ITAs for the PGP have been granted to candidates who indicated a desire to sponsor through the PGP between October and November 2020. In October 2022, the last PGP lottery was held. There were around 155,000 potential sponsors remained in the pool at the time of the 2022 lottery.

 

Super Visa

The Super Visa, an alternative to the PGP, enables grandparents and parents of Canadian citizens to enter the country as guests for up to five years after their original trip without having to reapply for status.

 

 

 

 

Parents and grandparents who now have a Super Visa will be eligible to request for an extension, which may grant them permission to stay in Canada as visitors for up to seven years. They can also enter Canada several times for a period of up to ten years. All year long, the Super Visa is accessible.

Parents and grandparents who reside in a nation where a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) is necessary for admission into Canada have the option of applying for a Super Visa. They won’t need to keep applying for the TRV since they will be able to travel between Canada and their home country with the Super Visa. Parents and grandparents from nations that are exempt from a TRV, such as the United States, can also benefit from the Super Visa. Canadian residents may enter and stay for up to six months at a time. Visitors can enter Canada and remain for up to 5 years each admission with the Super Visa.

The application procedure is comparable to the TRV procedure, but extra proof of support for parents and grandparents throughout their stay in Canada is needed. These consist of:

 

1. Letter of Invitation: you must have a letter of invitation from your child or grandchild who is residing in Canada.
2. Proof of Income: your child or grandchild needs to demonstrate that they meet the minimum income requirement based on the Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO). Documents should be provided to support their financial capacity.
3. Parental Relationship Proof: you must provide evidence of your parental relationship with your child or grandchild, such as a birth certificate that clearly names you as their parent.
4. Medical Insurance Coverage: you need to show proof of medical insurance coverage for a minimum period of one year, which should be obtained from a Canadian insurance company.

 

 

 

Contact us to know if you qualify to migrate to Canada. Check out Owlspriority Immigration’s Canada Settlement Resources to learn about finding employment in Canada, making your initial days stress-free, etc.

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